


Normalcy Bias

by Imafilthycasual



Series: The Road to Hell [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Batman - Freeform, Dark, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Deathstroke - Freeform, Dick Grayson fighting the system, Discussion of Abortion, Fluff and Smut, Implied Mpreg, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, M/M, Mpreg, Nightwing - Freeform, No on screen birth, Not between JayDick, Protective Batfamily (DCU), Red Hood - Freeform, Red Robin, Robin - Freeform, Romance, Social Issues, Social Justice, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:02:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29700957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imafilthycasual/pseuds/Imafilthycasual
Summary: This is the sequel to Good Intentions.A new illegal drug known as "Bond Breaker" has been recently circulating the streets and it's having some rather devastating side effects: Death and violence to any Alpha or Omega exposed to the toxin. Who made it? Who is distributing it? And what does this have to do with the Nicola Alexandrov trial? Dick is attempting to locate the source in order to stop the spread with the aid of his fellow Bats, but finds himself imminently distracted by a VERY big secret.Meanwhile: Jason digs deeper into the mystery of his Mother's disappearance while trying to navigate his new bond with Dick, we finally get to see our kick-ass Bat Ladies, Slade shows up to be both helpful and problematic, Bruce is an awkward parent, Damian is a moody/possessive kid, and Tim needs sleep. Lots and lots of sleep.This story is darker than most but lighter than the last.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, implied Dick/Slade - Relationship
Series: The Road to Hell [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2182665
Comments: 44
Kudos: 103





	Normalcy Bias

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back my lovelies!
> 
> So this Good Intentions sequel will not be quite as dark as the first story but it WILL still focus on some seriously heavy issues. Loads of feelings and a bit more smut followed by a touch of fluff. It's really gonna be a mix bag so please be prepared for highs and lows.
> 
> I'll update more tags as the story unfolds so please be mindful of them. 
> 
> Honestly though, if you got through the first story (Which I'm assuming you have if you're here) you're gonna be more than capable of handling this. Also, if you haven't ready Good Intentions already... you're gonna miss a lot. So, while I suggest you go and read that first, I wont stop you from diving into this story if you haven't.
> 
> Oop! Almost forgot: The New drug concept came from the incredibly helpful reagy_jay who really kick-started my brain onto plotting out the whole story. Without them, we wouldn't have this so send them your love and thanks lol

Dick never understood the obsessive fascination people had over fat babies with wings.

Cherubs were a weird concept by themselves, but put them in context and their weirdness becomes exemplified. Traditionally, weren’t Cherubs supposed to be some fearsome and powerful group of angels that looked like a theology student’s drunken fever-dream? Like, four faces and a compilation of unrelated animal parts?

How THAT disturbing imagery got Disney-fied into the cute chubby babies of today was beyond him.

“I don’t know what to do, they won’t believe me...” 

Dick’s attention was pulled from the framed painting on the wall and directed towards the small Omega woman sitting two seats away from him. She appeared to be attempting the impossible by having a private conversation on a cell phone in the middle of a waiting room. He feigned interest elsewhere for the sake of politeness but his eyes kept coming back to the vivid purples and reds circling her left eye. The colors seemed to melt down her face, turning green and yellow as they reached her cheekbone. 

It was a nasty black eye he was all too familiar with- which was a problem given that HE was a vigilante and this poor creature looked like a gentle breeze could have blown her over if she wasn’t in her last trimester of pregnancy. At least, he hoped it was her last trimester because she looked ready to pop. 

“Yeah, I told them that but…” The moment the Omega’s conversation became broken and watery, Dick quickly cast his attention away to give her the illusion of privacy. He was familiar enough with victims of domestic abuse to know exactly where this conversation was going and he, as a complete stranger, had no right to be a part of it. And that’s when he noticed the handful of other Omega scattered about the waiting room looking just as worse for wear as the one next to him. 

“Mr. Todd?” 

Dick jerked his attention towards the Beta woman standing in an open doorway, a clipboard cradled in the bend of her arm as she scanned the room.

“That would be me.” He got to his feet and offered her a smile but the nurse paid less attention to who was in the room in favor of who was NOT. It was exactly the situation he had been trying to avoid by coming here in the first place.

“Will your Alpha or guardian be joining us?”

The smile on his face collapsed into irritation. “He had some important errands to do, he’ll be by to pick me up in an hour.” Which was a boldfaced lie but to hell with anyone who tried to challenge him on the subject.

Having a required Alpha-guardian in public was just another one of the finer “perks” that came with his newly minted Omega status. He could now confidently say that he actually understood what Beta women and Omegas meant by society’s “infantilization” of them- and they weren’t wrong. It was as if the second he was deemed an Omega in the eyes of “the powers that be”, he was stripped of all rights and unceremoniously dumped into the “protected” second-class citizen rank. He wasn’t allowed to drive on his own, go places on his own, vote on his own… be an ADULT on his own. It was more than a little demeaning given that he had already been fed up with it long before his nonvoluntary change occured.

Dick used to be a POLICE OFFICER for crying out loud; NOW he was expected to be little more than a pretty housewife (trophy). And society just… accepted it- acted like it was no big deal to strip a former Beta of their rights. The only people possibly MORE offended than him by this newly imposed societal standard were the various members of his family. Or was it Pack? Was he supposed to call them a Pack now? What the hell was the difference?

The nurse, Sharon according to her name tag, shifted in place and looked down at her paperwork then back up at Dick, like she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do now. Honestly, he could empathize. As a former cop AND Beta, he knew what it was like to have your hand forced in upholding some laws and expectations that you neither understood nor agreed with. Still… the hesitant action made him grind his teeth and swallow the bitter words attempting to escape through his mouth.

“Oh… well… I can come back in--”

“--NO!” He startled both of them with the intensity of his voice- having not expected it to be half as thunderous as it came out. “I mean... no, thank you.” He forced a smile that felt positively saccharin. “It’s fine. Really. It’s best not to disturb a grumpy Alpha when they’re busy with important things, you know?” Maybe it was a little low to play on Sharon’s caregiver emotions by hinting at a darker situation that did not exist, but this was HIS body they were talking about, and no one else’s.

After an additional pause lined with worried lip-biting, Sharon appeared to make up her mind by cautiously nodding and motioning for him to follow her down the hall. Oh thank god, he REALLY didn’t want anyone finding out he was here in the first place.

As soon as the two of them were settled into a private room with a closed door behind them, the nurse seemed to relax a little. Her shoulders dropped the tightrope line they had been creating and a smile lit up her features. Sharon the Happy Nurse looked strikingly different from Sharon the Cautious Nurse and something in that made him… sad.

“From what we can tell, everything looks normal, but, you’re going to want to set up regular check-ins with your primary-care physician in order to keep track of the baby’s health and development. There’s only so much we can tell through blood tests this early on.”

And that's when the world dropped out from under him.

Logically, he KNEW this was a possibility before he even walked through the clinic door (ten boxes of pregnancy tests couldn’t ALL be false positives) but that didn’t mean he was ready to hear the empirical confirmation out loud. It was the difference between knowing, and KNOWING. Dick felt his breakfast rapidly attempting to make a reappearance and he barely had enough time to fumble towards the tiny trash can in the corner before it did. Talk about a complete waste of cereal.

When he was done expelling the contents of his stomach, the ever helpful Nurse Sharon was at his side with a tiny paper cup in hand. Waiting for the second wave of nausea to pass, Grayson found himself wishing he had asked B or someone to come with him. When the third wave of nausea passed, he was grateful he didn’t.

“Unfortunately morning sickness isn’t always in the morning.” Sharon awkwardly chuckled and Dick could only grimace at that, accepting the cup to rinse out his mouth with. If ONLY this had been about morning sickness and not about anything (and everything) else. 

“Thanks.”

The nurse merely smiled in response as she gently rubbed his upper back and he let her do it, letting her believe she was empathizing with the correct scenario. He didn’t have the heart or words to explain the reality of this situation and all the problems it was going to cause. There were just too many moving variables involved and this random free clinic was NOT the place to try and sort them all out in.

So, plastering on his best “I’m perfectly fine, thanks for asking” face, Grayson stood up straight and tossed the empty cup into the waste bin. 

“Do you want me to call the Doctor? She can probably prescribe you some nausea medication to help with the morning sickness…”

“No, but thank you anyway. I should get going so I... can share the good news with my Alpha.” Dick hated the way lies always piled up the moment you spilled ONE. 

“Do you need assistance walking out?”

Now, he KNEW Sharon was just trying to be helpful but his temper was all over the place these days and he found himself pretty irrationally angry at her patronizing tone (intended or not). He wasn’t a child, Sharon, he was just having one.

Dick’s stomach twisted again and he took several deep breaths to keep from dry heaving on the floor. “Thank you, but I’m quite alright. I’m just going to the lobby to wait for my Alpha- no need for an escort.”

She looked hesitant to let him go but seeing as how she had already bent ONE rule, it wasn’t hard for her to look the other way on another. 

“Alright.” Relief flooded him the moment she turned to collect some documents off the nearby counter. “Here is your paperwork, and PLEASE remember to schedule another appointment in two weeks at the front desk or with your Primary care physician.” Sure. Because THAT wasn’t going to get complicated.

Taking the papers from the Nurse with a pleasant smile and a gentle nod seemed to be the correct response because, just a few seconds later, Sharon was walking out the door and leaving him to his own devices. FINALLY. Dick waited an additional minute to make sure the coast was clear before confidently strolling out of the clinic like he didn’t need an escort. Because he DIDN’T.

Stepping out into the fresh air, Grayson lifted up the papers and read through them quickly- it was like simultaneously ripping off a band-aid and sealing his fate. There, in size 12 bold font was the word “Positive” next to “Pregnant” and it hit him like a ten-ton truck all over again. A familiar dread crept up his spine as he contemplated his options, and then promptly stopped contemplating anything at all. He couldn’t deal with this right now. He didn’t WANT to deal with this right now. What he WANTED to do was: get home, snuggle into the couch with a huge blanket and a hot cup of coco, throw on a feel-good Disney flick and turn off his brain entirely.

Not necessarily in that order.

But life, of course, had other plans for him. Upon lowering the damning papers in hand, Dick immediately caught sight of a familiar car and a familiar man standing primly alongside it.

Damn.

“Master Richard.” Alfred spoke kindly but it read like an apology. “I was asked to offer you transportation home.” He opened the door and motioned towards the backseat like it was an “offer” and not a demand from the man sitting back there already.

Goddamn tracker.

If Tim hadn’t all but BEGGED him to get one implanted…

“No thanks, Al.” Dick forced a chipper tone but the undercurrent was anything but. “I drove myself here, I can drive myself back.” He was quick to wave off the whole suggestion, attempting to make a totally-not-running-away b-line (no pun intended… this time) towards his own vehicle parked adjacent to theirs. 

“Dick.” Bruce actually got out of the car faster than Dick had anticipated, cutting him off by rounding the Bentley and standing between him and his lovely P.O.S. two spaces down. 

“Bruce.” He returned, annoyance clear on his face with no accompanying smell because military-grade scent blockers were a godsend. “Fancy meeting you here.” 

Translation: What the hell do you think you’re doing here?

“I was reading over some computer files and thought of you. Figured I could catch you here on your way out.”

Translation: I noticed you weren’t in the house and because I’m a paranoid and over-protective Knot-head, I looked up your tracking device on the Batcomputer and made Alfred my accomplice by having him drive me here in what amounts to a gross invasion of your privacy.

Or something like that.

“Well, you caught me. Can I go now?” Dick knew he needed to get out of this situation fast before Bruce began asking any questions. It wouldn’t hold the Bat off for long but it WOULD give Dick enough time to come up with an explanation outside of the obvious.

“Chum…” 

Goddamnit. B was using THAT tone with THAT old pet name to manipulate him into staying and... well… on any other day it MIGHT have worked, but today? Today Dick wasn’t feeling it.

“Look B, I’m not feeling so hot and I just want to get home so I can take some meds and--”

“Richard.” Bruce confidently slid right into his direct field of vision like a Queen to F7. “I KNOW already.” And that was Checkmate.

Well… there went HIS evening plans.

tbc

**Author's Note:**

> Yup. I really did just throw ya'll into the deep end right off the bat (pun intended). 
> 
> Big thank you to my Bae-ta reader: Dabiishi for all her hard work and dedication. Couldn't do this without ya.
> 
> The majority of this story is going to take place within the first six month of Dick's pregnancy so we wont get to see much beyond that. I'm not gonna get into any birthing scenes but I'll consider an epilogue? Maybe? We'll see.
> 
> So what do ya think? I really need and love your guy's thoughts and comments on my work to better shape it. The entire story line is drafted but the details are not solidified and everything could use revision/suggestion. 
> 
> Hope you stick with me for the rest of this multi-chapter fic (It's gonna be a long one). Much love!


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